Mortgages in March, where a first home is still within reach.
March is the most affordable town we cover, seventeen minutes from Peterborough by train, and in the middle of the Fens. The first two are why people buy here. The third is why we check the flood map before we do anything else.
March in numbers
The figures a lender's valuer and an affordability check will both be looking at.
- Average sold price
- About £238,000
- Fenland district average
- £228,000; average rent £830 a month
- Trend
- Broadly flat on the year
- To Peterborough
- 17 to 20 minutes, around 34 trains a day
Sold prices: OnTheMarket, July 2026. District figures: ONS, February and March 2026. Rail: Greater Anglia and East Midlands Railway.
What is different about March
What affordability looks like here
At an average of around £238,000, a 10% deposit is under £24,000 and the loan is within reach of a single average income or two modest ones. Rents in Fenland average £830 a month, which on most figures is more than the mortgage. That comparison is the reason most first-time buyers in March ring us.
The Fens
Much of Fenland lies at or below sea level and stays dry through pumped drainage; the Middle Level system that drains this area is the largest in the country. March is protected by river defences, and Storm Henk in January 2024 still brought surface-water flooding to streets in the town. The flood map is street by street and so is the insurance.
Getting to Peterborough and Cambridge
March station has direct trains to Peterborough in seventeen minutes and to Ely, with Cambridge usually one change beyond. It makes March a working choice for people employed in either city who want to own rather than rent.
What we check first
The flood zone and the insurance
Environment Agency map first, then an insurance indication. Homes built before 2009 have Flood Re behind them; newer homes in a flood zone need a specific quote.
Which scheme, if any
On these prices a 5% deposit mortgage, a first-time buyer stamp duty exemption, or a family deposit product can each be the difference. We check all three.
The survey
Older Fenland houses can have movement on soft ground. A survey that looks at it costs a few hundred pounds and can save a great deal.
That the rate suits the plan
If March is a first step, a two-year fix and a lender that allows overpayments keeps the next move cheap.
Buying in March, answered
- Can I get a 95% mortgage in March? Often, yes. Several lenders offer 5% deposit products, and the government-backed scheme sits behind some of them. At March prices the deposit is small enough that the question is usually affordability rather than deposit.
- Will the flood risk stop me getting a mortgage? Rarely. It can make the insurance more expensive, and the lender needs insurance to complete. We get the quote before you offer so there are no surprises.
- Is it cheaper to buy than rent in March? On average figures, yes, often by a clear margin. We will run your actual numbers rather than the averages.
We arrange mortgages across March and the surrounding villages from our office on Eastfield Road, Peterborough.
Also covering Stamford, Oundle, Whittlesey, Yaxley, Huntingdon, Bourne, Market Deeping.
Ask us about MarchRelated to buying in March
Ask us about buying in March
Tell us the street if you have one and where you are up to, and an adviser will come back to you.
- One of the five advisers on Eastfield Road, not a call centre.
- Usually the same working day.
- No obligation, and nothing to sign at the end of it.
Would rather talk now? Call 01733 602 033.
Buying in March?
Tell us what you earn and what you have saved and we will tell you what is realistic. Twenty minutes, no obligation.